It’s opt or drop time. Today, we are looking at Smarty Pants Kids Multi and Omegas. These are sugar-free strawberry banana gummies. They say they’re clean, allergen-free, and easy to take – if you like gummies. But if you’re the parent of a child with autism, you should know exactly what’s inside these and what’s missing.
What’s inside?
Let’s start with the positives. So Smarty Pants delivers a nice range of basic vitamins and minerals.
They have methylated B vitamins, although not in super high doses or anything like that.
There’s vitamin D, again, a small amount. Zinc, again, a small amount, and they have plant-based omega-3 from flaxseed oil.
It is good in that this product is free from artificial colors and common allergens. There’s no added sugar. There’s no sugar alcohol either, so it’s a good start.
But there are four gaps that, as an autism parent, you need to know.
Gaps
Omega-3
Gap number one is omega-3, the type, and the amount. It only has 24.25 mg of plant omega-3s.
In autism studies, the omega-3 doses that show benefit are usually hundreds of milligrams.
Yes, it’s in there, but it’s very small. I wouldn’t want you thinking like, Oh, yeah, I’m giving my child omega-3s. You’re just giving a little omega if you’re giving this. This formula doesn’t get you close. I wouldn’t say that you could use this to substitute for a good amount of fish oils.
Missing minerals
Okay, gap number 2 is missing key minerals. There’s no magnesium, there’s no calcium or iron.
A lot of times, iron is not included, but you definitely want to be thinking about that if you’re an autism parent. Many kids with autism have low intakes of magnesium, calcium, and iron, just due to picky eating.
If you’re giving a multivitamin due to their picky eating, you want to make sure the multivitamin has what they’re not getting from their picky eating.
These nutrients are really important. They play roles in sleep, attention, and growth. If they’re not in the multivitamins, you’ve got to get them from other sources – food, or more supplements.
General formula
Gap number three is that this is a general formulation. It’s not targeted. This is what I can tell from the label, designed as a general multivitamin for overall healthy kids. This is not a therapeutic, autism-focused formula.
Autism-specific blends often contain higher doses and also a wider variety of nutrients and antioxidants based on different clinical trials that have been done to really understand the nutritional gaps for a picky eater with autism. So general formulations, not autism-specific.
Modest impact
And gap number 4 is that there’s a modest impact potential. So these gummies are safe, and they’re clean. It’s like an insurance policy for just absolute basic nutrition.
But it’s not something most families will see dramatic changes in speech or behavior or focus by taking this. A multivitamin might be needed, but this is a very general one, and you want to have a cohesive strategy. There are those four gaps, but some parents might need just a basic multivitamin. Let’s check this out.
Taste and smell
So it is a gummy. Oops, I got two. This is the size of it.
It’s definitely chewy. It’s like a real gummy. The taste is not bad. It’s a little on the tart side. I mean, as a kid, I used to love the Sour Patch Kids. So there’s a little element of that sourness to it. But I’m not puckering in my face, but it’s definitely there.
I will say it’s a real gummy, so it’s in my teeth. Serving size is two gummies, so that’s only one. I don’t want to have any more in my teeth.
Dental issues
I’m not a huge fan of gummies to begin with, just because they stick in your teeth.
Research shows that dental health is often problematic in kids with autism. Because brushing is hard, maybe it’s motor control, maybe it’s sensory. So brushing isn’t done as often.
Then dental visits sometimes don’t happen when they should, or it’s even hard to find a dentist who understands your child and is patient. Dental health often suffers.
I would be just mindful of using gummies because they’re literally still in my teeth. Yeah, it’s still in my teeth. You want to be cautious with giving something that is supposed to be beneficial, and then maybe causing problems later down the line. And that’s with gummies in general, not just this.
Smell
They taste great. Strawberry, banana. There’s no crazy smell. Yeah. There’s not that multivitamin smell. So they’re very much like a candy, to be honest with you.
Strategy
If you’re considering Smarty Pants Kids Multi and Omegas, or any multivitamin for your child, the first step isn’t just buying a bottle. It’s understanding whether the nutrients it provides address your child’s specific needs and potential deficiencies.
Yes, nutrient gaps are common in autism, especially with picky eating, but not all gaps are the same. If the nutrients missing for your child are not covered by this product, then relying on it alone could be wasting time, energy, money, and hope.
That’s why it is so important to have a strategy. Without one, it’s easy to get caught in a cycle of adding supplements, seeing a little change, moving on to the next what-if, and never really being confident in what you’re doing so that you can do it long enough to see if there is an actual change.
A strategy helps you target the nutrients that are most relevant for your child. So every step you take is intentional, personalized, and backed by evidence.
Opt or drop?
So is this an opt or drop? If you just need a general light multivitamin, there’s nothing wrong with this. There really isn’t, except for it getting stuck in your teeth. So hopefully your child can brush their teeth very well.
But is this something that a child who is a picky eater, who’s not eating vegetables, is this really going to make that difference in your nutrient gap? Not really.
So it could be appropriate for some parents, but for most of the autism-specific parents who have picky eaters and their child has different health issues going on in their body, this is not going to be potent enough.
So you’ll just be wasting time and money. And you could use other products that are much more potent to get you where you need to be. But remember, you’ve got to know what’s missing first.
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